Question:
Will surgery be postponed because of hernia?

I just found out my results today from my upper GI and was told that I have a minor hiatal hernia(I'm positive I'm not spelling that one right!). Do you think my surgeon will put off my surgery until I get it repaired? I only have one more Dr's appnt until all of my pre-op requirements are met.    — Jeanine B. (posted on October 7, 2002)

October 7, 2002
The surgeon that I plan on going to will repair the hernia when he does the RNY. That is probably what your surgeon will do too. I would just call and ask them.
   — Marjorie F.

October 7, 2002
Hi, and congratulations on your upcoming surgery. As mentioned in the previous response above, your surgeon will probably repair the hernia at the same time. I had been in an automobile accident in August of 2001 and as a result ended up with an umbilical hernia. Speak with your surgeon. If there was going to be a delay in your surgery he or she I would think would have told you when they found it. Good luck and I will keep you in my prayers.
   — Dawn K.

October 7, 2002
Ask your surgeon to repair it while he is in there. We did not know I had a hernia at the time of my WLS, and even tho the doc saw it during surgery, he left it alone (his reasons were he did not have my consent to repair, and he thought he could take care of it when I had my tummy tuck in the future). Well, 5 days after lap RNY, I was rushed to the emergency room because I was heaving up stomach bile. Turned out that my small bowel got sucked into the hernia and kinked. 1 open surgery later, I was OK, but wish now that the hernia had been taken care of during the first surgery.
   — Cindy R.

October 8, 2002
I hate to chime in like some kind of "all-wise" sister...but what the heck! Make sure you talk to your surgeon about this. He should be able to do the repair while doing the WLS. It may prevent him from doing a Lap procedure, but it is worth the extra recovery time since you would be preventing an additional surgery for the repair. You know- 2 birds, one stone. Love you!
   — Rebekah B.

October 8, 2002
My pre-op testing confirmed that a pre-exsisting hiatal hernia had gotten worse. My surgeon advised me he had to repair the hernia before he could make my "pouch". My surgery was an open RNY. Make sure your surgeon can do both at the same time, as the pain from the RNY is bad enough! No need to put yourself through it twice, you know?
   — mjlward1